The Engagements

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The Engagements
528 pages; Vintage Contemporaries
As with her wildly popular Maine, Sullivan tracks several marriages (or long-term relationships) at once in her new novel, moving through different time periods, from 1947 to 2009. There's Delphine, who's left her husband for a passionate affair with an American, only to end up heartbroken. And Evelyn, who's spent the past 40 years with the same man. And Kate, who vows never, ever to get married. Yes, there's a diamond on the cover, and lots of fascinating history about the diamond business and advertising. The real lure, however, is Sullivan's ability to slip into the minds of such disparate characters—and to create a novel that questions what all of us think, hope and need from long-term love, ring or no ring.
— Leigh Newman